Lena Dunham — one of the most avid advocates for feminism — created a massive wave throughout the Internet with her hashtag, #AskYourMother.
In light of the ongoing battle between the Republican Party and Planned Parenthood, Dunham increased the efforts to stand with Planned Parenthood.
She is doing so by urging everyone to ask their mothers if they had an abortion — specifically before the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case in 1973.
Before Roe v. Wade, abortion was illegal in the United States, and women who wanted one were forced to go to extreme measures.
Dunham began the #AskYourMother hashtag story with asking her own mother if she had an abortion.
In her essay “Why you should #askyourmother about her abortion,” Dunham and her friend/producing partner Jenni Konner asked Konner’s mother and her friend about their abortions before the Supreme Court decision.
Konner describes her mother’s story, writing, “And it was amazing. It was healing. It was informative. And it was heartbreaking.”
Her mother tells Konner an eye-opening story of how she drove to Mexico, held sunglasses in her left hand and felt certain that she was going to die.
Fortunately, Ronnie Konner lived to tell her story.
Unfortunately, other stories did not turn out as well as hers.
Since the hashtag became viral, many women have sent in their mother’s stories of abortions.
By speaking out about abortions, it reduces the shame and stigma that is thrown at women who have had them.
Being open about our mothers’ traumatic experiences helps shed light on what’s to come if our reproductive rights are taken from us.
The reproductive rights and healthcare of women should not be a political issue for men to decide.
Men should make no decisions concerning a woman’s body.
Whether you are pro-choice or anti-choice — not pro-life as Dunham’s mother taught her to say, “We are all pro-life, sweetie” — put your differences aside for a moment.
History will repeat itself and women will still get abortions — legal or not.
The only thing that will change is the safety of women’s lives.
Whether you agree with abortion or not, you should agree on the fact that women should have their own rights for whatever choices she may make for her body.
We need to stand together in this crucial time, and stand up for our reproductive rights, before we have to #AskOurDaughters.
We need a lot of things in this country, but a relapse of a dark time in women’s history isn’t one of them.
America needs to move forward, not back into our dangerous past.
You can submit your #AskYourMother story to submissions@lennyletter.com.
Include #AskYourMother in the subject and let your mother’s story be heard.
prhurst@indiana.edu
@IDSPeyton
